This invention relates to arylglyoxals and to hydrates and sodium bisulfite adducts formed from them, which are new compounds useful as pharmaceutical agents. The novel compounds of this invention are hypoglycemic agents capable of ameliorating diabetes mellitus in mammals by acting to simulate and/or potentiate the action of insulin. This invention further relates to methods for treating diabetes mellitus in mammals in need of such treatment. In addition, this invention is concerned with pharmaceutical compositions for the utilization of these compounds in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Further, this invention relates to the chemical synthesis of the compounds disclosed herein.
The disease diabetes mellitus is characterized by metabolic defects in the production and utilization of glucose which result in the failure to maintain appropriate blood sugar levels. Research on the treatment of diabetes has centered on attempts to normalize fasting and postprandial blood glucose levels. Treatments have included parenteral administration of exogenous insulin, oral administration of drugs, and dietary therapies.
Initially it was thought that hyperglycemia was simply the result of a deficiency in the supply of insulin, the principle hormone which controls glucose metabolism. As a result, research focused on the source of insulin production, the beta cells of the pancreas, and pharmaceutical agents were discovered which stimulated the production of insulin by the pancreas. Although it remains true that a deficiency of insulin does cause hyperglycemia it has now been recognized that other metabolic defects can be a major cause of elevated blood glucose.
In Type I diabetes, also called juvenile onset or insulin-dependent diabetes, insulin deficiency is indeed the cause of hyperglycemia. However, the majority of diabetics suffer from a form of the disease referred to as Type II diabetes, also called maturity onset or noninsulin dependent diabetes. A main characteristic displayed by Type II diabetics is insulin resistance or insulin insensitivity. Insulin resistance is a condition in which available insulin, secreted by the pancreas and circulating in the blood stream, fails to stimulate sufficient glucose uptake and utilization in insulin-sensitive tissue. This inability of certain tissues including liver, muscle, and fat, whose metabolic machinery is normally sensitive to insulin, to utilize glucose efficiently or to control endogenous glucose synthesis and glycogenolysis, results in elevated blood glucose.
Compounds which simulate and/or potentiate the biological action of insulin would be beneficial in the treatment of hypoglycemia resulting from mild to moderate insulin insufficiency or insulin insensitivity. A compound which would simulate or mimic insulin's action would correct both insulin deficiency and insulin resistance by its own insulin-like action. Further, a compound which would potentiate insulin's action would ameliorate insulin deficiency by rendering the small amount of insulin which is present more efficacious and would decrease insulin resistance directly by acting synergistically to make insulin more effective. Thus compounds which show insulin-like and/or insulin potentiating activity would be beneficial for the treatment of hyperglycemia occuring either in Type I or Type II diabetes.
The compounds of the present invention simulate and potentiate the biological action of insulin. They simulate insulin's action at least in part by promoting the cellular uptake and metabolism of glucose in the absence of insulin. They potentiate insulin's action by exerting a synergistic effect on insulin action in the presence of sub-maximal concentrations of insulin. The exact mechanism by which the compounds of this invention act to produce these effects is not known and the invention should not be construed as limited to any particular mechanism of action. Nonetheless, the compounds of this invention are useful for the treatment of hyperglycemia and diabetes in mammals.